FULLERTON, Calif. — Lionheart Leslie scored 14 points and Cal State Fullerton survived a late scare to beat Hawaii 67-64 in the Big West Conference opener for both teams on Thursday night.
Kyle Allman scored 11 points and Jackson Rowe added 10 for the Titans (7-7, 1-0), who have won a season best three-in-a-row.
The Titans struggled somewhat offensively but was on point defensively, holding the Rainbow Warriors to just 34.4 percent shooting and 4 of 21 from deep.
A Tre Coggins three-point play gave Cal State-Fullerton a 65-53 lead with 2:54 to go, and the Titans appeared on the verge of putting the game away. Hawai’i battled back though, putting together an 11-2 stretch to get to 67-64 with 44 seconds to go.
After Coggins missed a jumper, the Rainbow Warriors (6-8, 0-1) had a final shot to tie it but Leland Green missed with one second left.
Green led Hawai’i with 12 points.
Long Beach State 68, UH women 57: Despite a 20-point performance from junior Sarah Toeaina, the Wahine dropped their Big West opener, remaining winless on the road.
Toeaina hit 9-of-12 shots in the game, including her only 3-point attempt, to finish just four points shy of her career high for Hawai‘i (4-9, 0-1 Big West).
The loss snaps Hawai‘i’s seven-game winning streak against Long Beach State ((10-6, 1-0 Big West).
Men’s volleyball
Larry Tuileta, Rado Parapunov, and Brandon Rattray each posted five kills as Hawaii opened its season with a 25-11, 25-17, 25-9 victory against Erskine at the Outrigger Volleyball Invitational in Honolulu.
Waiakea graduate Mamane Namahoe had a dig and former Warrior Evan LaRochelle had an assist in his UH debut.
